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Japanese invasion of China (1937)
Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), conflict that broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory. In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937. Japanese forces were diverted to the Pacific theatre of World War II against the Western Powers and their allies beginning in late 1941. Japan’s defeat in that by the Allies in 1945 ended its occupation of China. -
Rape of Nanking (1937)
The Nanjing Massacre, also known as "The Rape of Nanking," is a rare example of simultaneous gendercides against women and men. Over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people, including both soldiers and civilians. It is generally remembered for the invading forces' barbaric treatment of Chinese women. -
German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. -
Germany's invasion of Poland (1939)
On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the act that started World War II. The day before, Nazi operatives had posed as Polish military officers to stage an attack on the radio station in the Silesian city of Gleiwitz. Germany used the event as the pretext for its invasion of Poland. Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. Britain and France, standing by their guarantee of Poland's border, had declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
Nazi Germany and its Axis allies began a massive invasion of the Soviet Union named Operation Barbarossa -- some 4.5 million troops launched a surprise attack deployed from German-controlled Poland, Finland, and Romania. The Soviets were unprepared for the sudden Blitzkreig attacks across a border that spanned nearly 1,800 miles, and they suffered horrible losses. Within a week, German forces advanced into Soviet territory, and killed, captured, or wounded some 600,000 Red Army troops. -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack sank or beached a total of twelve ships and damaged nine others. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged. -
Wannsee Conference (1942)
The Wannsee Conference was a high-level meeting of Nazi officials that took place in Berlin on January 20, 1942, to discuss the "Final Solution" of the Jewish Question. 15 top Nazi bureaucrats coordinated the Final Solution, in which the Nazis would attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe, an estimated 11 million jews. -
Bataan Death March
After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II, the 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. -
Battle of Stalingrad (1942)
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, on the eastern boundary of Europe. -
Operation Gomorrah (1943)
Operation Gomorrah was an aerial bombing campaign that occurred in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Operation Gomorrah destroyed a significant percentage of the city of Hamburg, leaving over 1 million residents homeless and killing 40,000-50,000 civilians. In the immediate wake of the raids, over two-thirds of Hamburg's population fled the city. The raids severely shook the Nazi leadership, leading Hitler to be concerned that they would force Germany out of the war. -
Allied invasion of Italy (1943)
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis Powers (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. -
D-Day (Normandy invasion-1944)
The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Overload) were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Resulting in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. -
Battle of the Bulge (1945)
The Battle of the Bulge was a major battle in Europe during World War II. It was Germany's final attempt to drive the Allies off of mainland Europe. When Germany attacked they used over 200,000 troops and nearly 1,000 tanks to break through the US lines. Most of the troops involved on the Allied side were American troops. It is considered one of the greatest battles ever fought by the United States military. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the code for a cancelled operation planned in August 1944 but shelved and never implemented. The plan envisaged a massive attack on Berlin in the belief that would cause 220,000 casualties with 110,000 killed, many of them key German personnel, which would shatter German morale. -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought from February 19 to March 26, 1945, during World War II. It was a major battle in which the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army. The Japanese defenders of the
island were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks. 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle. In thirty-six days of fighting on the island, nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed. -
Battle of Okinawa (1945)
The battle of Okinawa, also known as Operation Iceberg, took place in April-June 1945. It was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific theater of World War II. It also resulted in the largest casualties with over 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies. -
VE Day (1945)
VE Day is a holiday celebrated on May 8th to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Potsdam Declaration (1945)
The Potsdam Declaration is a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
President Harry S. Truman, warned by some of his advisers that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties, ordered that the new weapon be used to bring the war to a speedy end. On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. -
VJ Day (1945)
On August 15,1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked celebrations over the final ending of World War II. On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day.
